The integrated development of Taihu Basin and the Yangtze River Delta region: Status, challenges and strategies

Abstract

太湖及太湖流域在长三角自然和经济地理空间具有举足轻重的地位，更是长三角区域一体化发展国家战略实施的关键地区.在当前区域一体化高质量发展背景下，太湖治理面临新的形势和任务，也面临一系列新的挑战，着重体现在水环境治理形势更加复杂严峻和水资源供给压力不断提升两方面.传统水陆分割治理难以解决湖泊问题，行政区治理难以适应区域一体化发展要求，水资源共享和付费机制尚未建立等问题，对长三角区域一体化进程也构成了较大阻滞.太湖水问题绝不局限于太湖本身，需要从湖泊-流域系统视角构建资源、环境、生态、社会与经济多要素协调统筹治理的新体系，考虑水陆空间协同治理与开发和不同次区域经济、社会、自然效益的均衡，以推动长三角区域一体化高质量发展.基于此，研究提出新背景下的太湖及流域治理思路：推动太湖水资源生态环境之间以及与流域经济社会的联动，撬动长三角生态环境一体化的思维创新；探索关键卡脖子技术研发和流域管理综合集成的科学体系，推动长三角资源环境领域的创新一体化发展；探索太湖流域跨行政区域的水生态环境共治、水资源共享和绿色发展机制，牵动一体化协调制度的改革创新.;Lake Taihu and Taihu Basin play an increasingly important role in the implementation of the national strategy of the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta(YRD) region. In the context of the high-quality development of regional integration, the management of Lake Taihu is facing more new, complex and difficult challenges. It highlights two aspects of the water environmental improvement and water resource supply. In detail, the separate management measures on lake and land cannot effectively solve the water problems, the management responsibility divided by administrative areas fails to meet the new requirements of regional integration, and the lack of mechanism of environmental integrated protection/harness and water resources protection/sharing, all of which actually become obstacles to the integrated development of the YRD region. This paper believes that the water deterioration of Lake Taihu is not limited to Lake Taihu itself but closely related to the Taihu Basin and the intensive human activities around. To promote the high-quality integrated development of the YRD region, the systematically management and governance of Lake Taihu should be improved out linking with the perspective of lake-basin system. It means to form a multi-factor coordination of resources, environment, ecology, society, and economy etc, and to achieve a coordinated management of land exploitation and water protection and a trade-off among economic, social and natural benefits in different sub-regions. Therefore the paper suggests several practical ways:First, the government concerned should explore the way to manage the complex lake-basin system with multiple factors, so as to promote the innovative thinking on the regional ecological and environmental integration; Second, put more effort on the research, development and application of key technology of lake-basin harness, and on the formation of comprehensive scientific system of lake-basin process simulation, evaluation and management, so as to promote the technological and scientific innovation in the field of ecological environment; And third, explore the mechanisms of resource and environmental protection/harness/sharing cooperation, and green development modes as well, so as to promote the institutional innovation of the integrated development.